It stands for above the line; in the income statement (profit and loss/ PnL) it describes income and expenditure (expenses) before taxes; it is said that exceptional items are noted above the line in the firm’s accounts. The “line” refers to gross profit (GP). Above the line items are: sales, cost of gross sales, or cost of sales. By nature, above the line items tend to change the most in comparison with other items, and hence cherish more attention from management.

Above the line also denotes the revenue items in a government budget reporting taxes and government expenditure.